Sick
by mightystar
Summary: Riley has cancer, and feels like she's alone in this world but gets her hopes up when she hears Maya's coming to visit her. Riley realizes that she's missed out on a lot and sees that there's a reason why Maya hasn't come. Will this break their friendship or make it stronger?
1. Chapter 1

This is a new story that I'm starting and I'm not really sure about it, review please?

Sitting, it's calming. You can sit and basically do anything, think, cry, draw anything. It's the ideal position. So, when you're getting radiation localized to your kidneys you sit. At least that's what I do. But I don't try to think about my cancer, how it's slowly killing me and how I could die tomorrow. I try to think of school and how this will make me stronger.

But today after radiation, Maya is coming to see me. I'm excited. Maya hasn't come to see me in 29 weeks. She said that it was because her art was booming, and it really is. Being a sophomore and having your art in the _New York Times_ is a pretty big deal. I hung her article on my wall, I was so proud of her. But I was a little sad. While she's out there in the world making a name for herself, I'm the poor girl with cancer. Oh no look at Riley! She lost her hair! That's so sad, take it easy on her she must be going through a lot, we need to treat her like she's in a bubble and not a real human! I get sick of it, but I'm cheery Riley, I have to remain happy. And most of the time, I am.

However, when you're having three rounds of chemo a week, that cheery Riley hibernates in my soul, going into a little box, while all of dark and scary Riley comes out. People get scared of change, and when I change like this, my parents start to consult psychologists and stop talking to me. If I want to be in a bad mood, it seems like the whole world falls apart. But, now that Maya's coming, I won't have to be the cancer patient who can't be in a bad mood Riley. I can be the Riley-town president, ring power Riley.

Three hours later, tired and exhausted from the radiation, I see a blonde bombshell enter the room. She has a serious look on her face, circle sunglasses rest on her eyes, she came here to do something. Her hair is in beach waves, and she's wearing a bohemian cardigan with a metal abstract necklace. She smiles as she lifts the sunglasses off of her face, letting one side of her smile slip higher than the other.

"Hey Riles," She says sitting on my bed. I stare. She looks so... healthy, alive. She doesn't look anything like what I thought she would without me. I thought she'd have bags under her eyes, worn lines on her face confirming worry, but no. She looks radiant, like sunshine could ooze ought through her. She glows. Maya glows.

"Hi Maya," I say, she strokes my hair, "How are you?"

"Good, great actually, my art is really taking off and I'm happy," She says nodding her head, as if she's trying to convince herself, "How about you?"

I laugh and breath in, "Better, since yesterday, but worse since the last time you saw me,"

She looks down at the ground and puts her hands in her head. I can see a dirty blond color at the bottom. She dyed her hair. Maya changed, a lot. I can see that. She changed without me.

"It's okay Peaches, I know you've been really successful, it was just a joke," I say patting her back. She sniffles and shakes her head.

"It's not okay Riles, it's not. My art is taking off, but everything else is falling to ashes. I came here to make it okay. I need to make it okay,"

"Making it okay? Maya you coming here is an honor, just to see you makes me excited. I want to tell you everything I've seen and been through. It's just so ex-"

"It shouldn't be an honor. I'm your best friend. Riley, a lot has changed since you got sick. Before it was an expectation, now it's an honor. Before I loved Lucas, after," She stops herself and shakes her head pursing her lips to the side, "There shouldn't be that many before and after's Riley, there shouldn't."

"Okay, okay," I say and hold her. She doesn't cry. She just sits, and calms.


	2. Chapter 2

I awake to a wild mess. We fell asleep. Maya is rushing around, her hair astray, trying to gather all of her belongings, cardigan barely grasping her shoulder. Her sunglasses are shoved into her hair, interlocking with the messy stands. She's in a hurry, and her vibrant bag is now overstuffed and ready to leave. She's a chaotic masterpiece, everything looks like the chaos is just where it should be. She suddenly realizes that I'm awake.

"Riles, I got to go, there's an art scout coming to the gallery and I have to go, I will come back after, okay?" She doesn't wait for an answer she frantically opens the door, but stops when she hears my crackly voice.

"Wait, peaches," I clear my throat and take in a deep breath, licking my chapped lips and closing my eyes for a split second, "Can I come?"

She looks like she's about to say no, her mouth wide open but crouches her eyebrows and bites her lip instead of answering, after about five seconds of this she calls for a nurse, "Hey, can she leave?" Maya asks.

The nurse, who looks new, looks from side to side with her lip curled like she's deciding what to do. She finally speaks, "She's allowed to, but she's really tired and should probably rest," Her voice is soft and makes you feel like you're getting a hug. Maya nods inferring that I can't go and reaches for the handle of the door again.

"Wait! Maya, take me with, I'm not tired, I could skydive now if I wanted to. Please just don't leave me again," I say as a desperate last measure.

It makes her cringe. I hit a soft spot, she'll have to take me. She looks at me with sad cancer eyes but nudges the nurse toward me. The nurse looks confused, and checks her clipboard for confirmation that this is okay. She lets out a shaky breath and prepares me to transfer to a wheel chair, slowly doing everything correctly. I give Maya a wide-eyed glance, but she's in another world on her phone. I realize that the day ahead will not be about me at all. It will not be about me having being ill and needing to take slow steps. No, it will be fast-pace moving all the time. It's kind of disappointing. I won't have Maya's full attention. But, that is nothing compared to the joy I feel of finally being let out of this medical hell hole.


End file.
